Net the hornet by swift swing
by TakeneNe
Summary: University!AU in which Naruto is an unconscious match-maker, Gai is fabulous and Lee makes hard life choices. Including Gaara as a sculptor, angry Deidara and general awkwardness. But it all turns out well!


**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.**  
Title from: **_Camero Cat - Soirée of Three Cats and a Rat, part 1_**

First off, I was aiming for a drabble and fluff, but apparently it's neither :'D

Second off, this work is an experiment, in which I randomized a bunch of words and built a story around them. My theme letter was **A** , and so my prompt was:  
 **Words:** assault, absolute, act  
 **Nouns:** art, activity, advertising  
 **Verbs:** assume, add, appreciate  
 **Adjectives:** aggressive, afraid, asleep  
 **Character letter:** L

Overall I think it turned out rather decent, even though somewhat dry. I've never written Lee or Gaara before, so maybe that's part of the reason, too.

* * *

 **Net the hornet by swift swing**

Lee never thought himself a model. Sure, he was tall and very fit even for a PE student, to the point where most of his school mates were just plain jealous of his form. But it was his face that's been a problem altogether, though. His caterpillar brows, surprisingly round eyes and ridiculous haircut he refused to change usually were more than enough for people to not take him seriously, no matter the case.

Yeah.

Lee never really considered himself a model material, so when one very early Saturday morning he has found himself at the door of Konoha University's Fine Arts department with a _model wanted_ ad in hand and a lump in his throat, he wasn't sure really what the heck was he even doing. He could've been training or helping Gai-sensei prepare the hall for morning practise, or even _sleeping_ right now, yet somehow he didn't want to turn back when he already made it here. Maybe it was Naruto's image in his mind, cheering _"Bushy-brows for the win!"_ or maybe the devastated expression Gai-sensei would sport if ever heard Lee chickened out. Cowardice was _not_ very youthful after all.

Yeah.

And so with one last deep inhale Lee pushed the door and headed onwards.

Fine Arts Department was a strange place, full of colourful paintings and weird sculptures displayed in the corridors. Air heavy with dust and paint fumes was sticking to his lungs, making him feel a little dizzy, and in the morning calmness his heart was pounding a bit too loud. Lee ignored all of that.

What he couldn't ignore, though, was the sudden sound of shattering glass coming roughly from the direction he was aiming for, followed by a loud whimper of pain and angry voices, and so Lee didn't think when he hit the sprint mode to see what was going on.

o0o

When he opened the door from behind which the screaming was coming, she stumbled upon a very odd scene.

There was a red-headed man laying on the floor, hugging some strangely looking vase to his chest, and another one with blond ponytail, sitting on top of him and trying to take it away. There was punching involved, too, and also lots of scratching, judging by the bloody nail marks on the red-head's forearms.

"What is going on here?!" Lee demanded, and that gained him two equally startled expressions, but also no verbal answerers or a change of pose.

Preparing for intervention, Lee straighten his back even more than usual, and called up his best imitation of Gai-sensei's authoritative tone.

"Please stop fighting or I'll be forced to separate you."

The blond snored, his agitation still very visible, but seeing Lee's muscular form must've cooled his head, because with the one last punch he lifted himself to his feet and started to leave. Maybe he just didn't appreciate having the witness around, though.

"That's not over, you dipshit, un," he spited at the red-head and aggressively met Lee's shoulder on his way out. He didn't look back.

Lee needed exactly three seconds to cross the room and squat beside the lying guy.

"Do you need help to stand?" he asked, because he wasn't about to engage any physical contact with a freshly beaten up man without his approval.

"Who are you?" the red-head asked in response, slowly putting off the vase beside him. He was fine, apparently.

"Oh, right! My name's Rock Lee!"

Quick breath.

"I… saw the ad. Are you the sculptor?"

Seafoam eyes locked on his for a brief moment and the guy's expression softened.

"I'm Gaara," he said, "and that was my ad."

 _Oh._

"Oh."

"Help me up?" So he _did_ need help after all, Lee thought, as he pulled Gaara up by the hand.

He then watched him put the curious piece of pottery he was no longer sure had anything to do with a vase into a huge chest in the corner of the room, and wash off the blood from the scratch marks in a nearby sink.

"I assume you'd want to know what happened here?" Quiet question broke the silence when Gaara finally turned off the water and faced Lee again. His gaze was strangely unmoving and _alive_ at the same time and Lee swallowed hard. The blond guy looked rather nuts, and he wasn't sure if hearing the story now would help him relax any better.

"Only if you wish to tell me," he resorted, leaving the choice to the other man.

Gaara's lips twitched but he only shook his head.

"Take off your jumpsuit, please, and you can… hop onto this chair," he instructed instead, hesitating while adjusting his work station, and for a brief second Lee really wanted to run away again.

Yeah.

Alright.

It was an act he was about to pose for. He knew that coming here. Nothing weird. Absolutely. Totally fair branch of art. But if he was ever going to embrace the awkward, he could as well start right now. He endured worse.

"Yosh!"

o0o

 _"Lee."_

 _"Hmm...?"_

 _"I want you to pose for me again. Next week. After dinner?"_

Maybe modelling wasn't so bad after all.

Yeah.

Lee could live with that.

 _"Sure."_

* * *

A/N:

Yas, I'm aware of the OOCness. Also, all the way throughout writing Gaara's lines, in my head they were chiming in Neji's voiced, which I didn't realize until the very end. Hence why it's all so weird, I guess.

By the way, if the name of this ship isn't **_GLee_** , there's something seriously wrong with this fandom. It fits _so beautifully_.

Cross-posted from AO3, same user name but with the low dash between the parts


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